The 32 worst Netflix original movies of all time, according to critics

Netflix‘s strategy for original content has shown, on occasion, that the streaming service values quantity over quality.

Last year, the company notably released the Will Smith-led fantasy movie “Bright” into a critical bloodbath. But Netflix CEO Reed Hastings soon brushed off the negative reviews by calling the film a commercial success and critics “disconnected from the mass appeal.”

This year, the streaming service has released several films that were intensely panned by critics, including Adam Sandler and Chris Rock’s comedy “The Week Of” and the sci-fi sequel “The Cloverfield Paradox.”

To find out which Netflix original films critics have deemed the worst of the worst, we turned to the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to rank the movies that received a “rotten” critical score of less than 60%. We excluded films that didn’t have enough reviews to receive a designation of “rotten,” and we used audience scores to break any ties.

Here are the 32 worst Netflix original movies, ranked in descending order:

32. “Shimmer Lake” — 56%

Netflix

Critic score: 56%

Audience score: 60%

Netflix description:“Unfolding in reverse time, this darkly comic crime thriller follows a local sheriff hunting three bank robbery suspects, one of whom is his brother.”

What critics said: “The story itself, while decently told, is rife with pulp cliches and archetypes, some of which veer close to stereotypical.” – Consequence of Sound

31. “The Package” — 50%

Netflix

Critic score: 50%

Audience score: 62%

Netflix description: “After their buddy suffers an unfortunate accident during spring break, four pals risk everything — including their dignity — to make him whole again”

30. “Like Father” — 50%

Netflix description: “After she’s left at the altar, a workaholic advertising executive ends up on her Caribbean honeymoon cruise with her estranged father.”

What critics said: “Swamps its workable emotional core and adept lead turns with some slapdash plotting and a raft of floating festivities.” – Los Angeles Times

29. “Mascots” — 50%

Netflix

Critic score: 50%

Audience score: 35%

Netflix description: “Eager contestants don big heads and furry suits to vie for the title of World’s Best Mascot in this offbeat, comic romp from Christopher Guest.”

What critics said: “As hard as it is to admit, Guest’s once-incisive satirical bite has grown dull in its familiarity. He doesn’t seem to be having as much fun here and neither are we.” – RogerEbert.com

28. “War Machine” — 49%

Netflix

Critic score: 49%

Audience score: 34%

Netflix description: “When a proud general is tasked with winning an unpopular war, he takes the challenge head-on, not knowing that hubris may be his own worst enemy.”

What critics said: “‘War Machine’ is a failure, but could perhaps have been a great film if it had tried a little harder to pick a tone.” – The Atlantic

27. “Sand Castle” — 47%

Netflix

Critic score: 47%

Audience score: 42%

Netflix description: “After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a reluctant soldier’s platoon is dispatched on a dangerous mission to repair a hostile village’s water system.”

26. “The Discovery” — 46%

Netflix description: “A scientist whose proof of an afterlife caused a rash of suicides forges ahead with his research, while his disapproving son falls for a troubled woman.”

What critics said: “A dull, nonsensical, sterile mess that left me with a headache and a tinge of annoyance from having wasted my time.” – Boston Globe

25. “The Most Hated Woman in America” — 44%

Netflix

Critic score: 44%

Audience score: 43%

Netflix description: “This drama follows the controversial life of outspoken atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, from her landmark court battles to her infamous abduction.”

What critics said: “Its desultory storytelling and seesaw of tonal shifts is frustrating in a way that so many poor biographical films tend to be.” – The Guardian

24. “ARQ” — 43%

Netflix

Critic score: 43%

Audience score: 46%

Netflix description: “Trapped in a lab and stuck in a time loop, a disoriented couple fends off masked raiders while harboring a new energy source that could save humanity.”

What critics said: “Watching a bad movie is never an enjoyable experience. But there’s something particularly excruciating about watching a bad movie that keeps repeating the same thing every 10 minutes.” – Refinery29

23. “Death Note” — 41%

Netflix

Critic score: 41%

Audience score: 25%

Netflix description: “Light Turner finds a supernatural notebook and uses it to mete out death, attracting the attention of a detective, a demon and a girl in his class.”

What critics said: “The movie is a bored demon who bores his audience right along with him.” – NPR

22. “When We First Met” — 35%

Netflix

Critic score: 35%

Audience score: 59%

Netflix description: “Using a magical photo booth that sends him back in time, Noah relives the night he met Avery over and over, trying to persuade her to fall for him.”

What critics said: “It’s like being at a crowded restaurant and eavesdropping on the same bad first date over and over and over again. You’d probably want to move tables.” – RogerEbert.com

21. “The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter” — 32%

Netflix

Critic score: 32%

Audience score: 42%

Netflix description: “A star of hunting videos strives to bond with his 12-year-old son on a wilderness trip but learns familial connections can’t be forced.”

What critics said: “Far too much of this wildly uneven Netflix-bound comedy plays less like a transgressive farce than an overextended ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch.” – Variety

20. “Sandy Wexler” — 32%

Netflix

Critic score: 32%

Audience score: 40%

Netflix description: “When a hapless but dedicated talent manager signs his first client who actually has talent, his career finally starts to take off.”

What critics said: “Adam Sandler’s third Netflix comedy arrives as something of a mission statement, finding a loose moral justification for all of his bad movies.” –IndieWire